The Oscars

TIFF has always been an important festival for UK film and creative talent. UK produced or co-produced films have gone on to win the People's Choice award 11 times including future Oscar winners such as Chariots of Fire, Slumdog Millionaire, The King's Speech and The Imitation Game.

It's not hard for me to foresee a very near future when movie directors would have their total cast made up of lifelike digital actors and actresses who would not only act how they were scripted to, but also not get a penny for their work.

Last night, Chris Rock and the Academy didn't give a damn what people thought. I think this was the most real award show I've ever laid my eyes on. I liked it. And I'd like to see Chris Rock be given the reins to every awards show in existence.

The Canada connection -- Christopher Plummer, who played the proud Austrian naval hero Captain Georg von Trapp -- was born in Toronto and raised in Senneville, Quebec, on the western tip of the Island of Montreal. Plummer is the great-grandson of John Abbott, who was Canada's third prime minister, and the Abbott family raised the young Plummer after his parents divorced.

Awards season is upon us. If you've avoided the online discussions about red carpet fashion over the past few weeks, consider yourself in the minority. Whether or not you're a fan of the inevitable musical montages, the teary speeches and the awkward presentation banter, there's a lot that businesses can learn from awards season.

This Sunday, the 88th annual Academy Awards will air. One film that will garner considerable attention at the ceremonies will be Carol, which earned an impressive six Oscar nominations in categories that include Best Adapted Screenplay. The movie is an adaptation of The Price of Salt, a 1952 romance novel by Patricia Highsmith, which was written at a time where lesbian fiction could be deemed obscene and seized by the authorities if the women were not portrayed as misguided, making choices that led to a bad end.

As a news producer for E! News Daily in 1998, I covered the 35th anniversary VHS (!) widescreen premiere of To Killing a Mockingbird in Beverly Hills. The actors who played Atticus, Scout, Jem, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley were there -- 35 years older, but still in love with this story of young enlightenment defeating prejudice in the mid-1930s American South.

I find it ironic that as we continue the battle against bullying in schools and amongst the A-list, it is in that very same cultural sphere that people use their cause as their weapon. Although I often disagree with comments made in the media, I more firmly believe that it isn't my place to call someone out for their opinion.

Some touching acceptance speeches, some political activism, and some complete disregard for the "start wrapping up your speech, please" music. But who can blame them? Here's exactly WHY the actors and actresses rocked their speeches, not only for WHAT they said, but HOW they said it.

Remember, you're not just sending information out into a void; you're sending it into a world where someone is going to receive it. When Patricia Arquette, John Legend and Julianne Moore took the stage on Sunday, they knew millions of people were watching. They showed us that we all have a voice and we can choose how we use it.

The Sochi Olympics, like other popular television viewing events (read: Oscars, Super Bowl) reinforced the importance and potential effectiveness of contextually relevant ads. Think of the Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion spot that went viral, or Proctor & Gamble's Thank You Mom commercial.

I'm adamantly opposed to proselytizing. There are 91 different names for God in the Bible. I take that to mean that there are multiple ways of thinking of God, of connecting to His teachings. Different paths, same destination. With the advent of the Internet we've been given the gift of information at our fingertips. Telling another or even suggesting that their way of believing is wrong is to attack their identity, their very essence. There's another group who proselytize whom I find just as objectionable: Atheists. From the New Atheists to Militant Atheists.

Tonight's Academy Awards ceremony marks the end of a week of predictions about which films will take home a coveted Oscar. Myself, I'm rooting for Philomena, because it just doesn't get much better than Steve Coogan, Judi Dench and Stephen Frears all in one place. Yet if I had to put money it, I'd bet that the celeb who will be most chatted about on Monday won't be one of those three, nor Leo DiCaprio or Sandy Bullock, for that matter. My $50 is on Toronto Mayor Rob Ford being the talk of Tinseltown after attending the Oscars and appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the next evening. Hollywood has never been known for nuance.

The Oscars is where we celebrate the best of the best in film -- the spine-tingling performances, the cream of the crop. You want the best of the best for your career too, and so why not look to the Oscars for a little inspiration. Here are six tips to help you create a career that's an Oscar worthy show-stopping success.

I doubt any kid is out there cutting posters or ads out of their daily newspaper. I mean, it's probably because there are no kids reading daily newspapers anymore. They don't need newspapers to see outside their living room anymore. And they don't need movies, either.

Shelly Westgarth started her ice cream venture in 2009. With twin children about to start school, Shelley realized she had to adjust her working hours to accommodate her growing family. As a regular visitor to the Muskoka farmer's markets in summer, she identified an opportunity to make and sell gourmet Ice cream. The rest is history.

The annual Academy Awards ceremony is not only the biggest night of the year for film, it has become the biggest night of the year for fashion. Of course, the 85th annual Academy Awards festivities were filled with glamorous gowns, but here's a look at 10 gents who hit the 2013 Oscar red carpet in style.